Legislature may speed funding to Loring Commerce Centre
Courtesy / bluShift
At Loring Commerce Centre in Limestone, Brunswick-based bluShift Aerospace recently launched a commercial rocket prototype from a portable trailer.
State legislation that would fast-track funding for Loring Commerce Centre in Limestone is on a fast track itself, after passing out of committee last week.
The Legislature’s Committee on Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business on Thursday unanimously approved the bill, which would allow the Loring Development Authority to immediately receive money it otherwise wouldn’t get until July 31.
The funds from the Loring Job Increment Financing Fund, established after the 1994 closure of Loring Air Force Base, provides the authority with 50% of state income tax generated by new jobs at Loring Commerce Centre. The bill, authored by Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, would provide an estimated amount for that annual allocation.
Jackson believes the early payment is necessary to help the business center weather the current economic crisis. The Loring Development Authority has lost out several revenue opportunities because of the pandemic, including a distillery that would have occupied a 47,000-square-foot facility, he said while introducing the bill last month.
“Like so many businesses and nonprofits in our state, [Loring Development Authority] has struggled over the past year,” Jackson said. “The base still has so much potential. LDA just needs our little support to get through this crisis.”
While the exact amount hasn’t been determined, this year’s funding would reportedly be in the range of $500,000.
The Loring Commerce Centre is a 3,700-acre business, commercial, and industrial park on the site of the former air base, and includes a 1,600-acre aviation complex. It serves houses 300 residents and 28 businesses, which employ roughly 800 workers.
Jackson’s bill must now go for votes by the full Senate and House.
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